The Educated Emotion

In general, entrepreneurs and small business owners tend to practice healthier lifestyles. That may be because many entrepreneurs understand that losing time or illness can hurt business. Still, that healthy lifestyle is not the reality for many startups or female entrepreneurs who tend to have increased demands on time and unique challenges that can leave them depleted. Fresh and New Spring is a good time to think about beginning a new project or starting over , and Monday is a good time to begin a new project. But, most small business owners do not have a clean break between work and play, week and weekend. Friday is not the jubilant release and Monday morning does not always bring the refreshed promise that we see and hear around us.   However, each morning is actually a new opportunity to start again. Whether you practice yoga, journal, exercise on the treadmill, or just still -- find some time to rejuvenate this morning so that you can have enough of you left at...

When the remake of the movie,  Sparkle , arrived to theaters, I had to watch the 1976 version just one more time. This has been a favorite since I first watched it as a teen almost 20 years after it was released. Every time I watch the movie something different stands out. This time that I watched it, I noticed how sweaty Stix, the character played by Philip Michael Thomas, was when he hugged the girls mom. It was at the point that I experienced an epiphany as to why this movie impacted me so much. Here are three sweaty business lessons that I learned from the movie: 1. Sweating is Natural  In Sparkle, when Stix came to Sparkle's debut and hugged her mom he was sweaty. She didn't turn him away. In fact, she gave him a full embrace while in her finest threads. He had made a mistake and she knew it, but he had survived it and she was encouraged.  As a entrepreneur, I have to put in my sweat equity to get my business off the ground. There aren't ...

A Full Moon, taken around midnight on August 1, 2012, several minutes after  it reached its fullest  phase. Have you ever witnessed something so breathtaking that you wanted to capture the image and share it with the world?  At the top of August, I was outside when the moon became Full. It took up the entire sky. Due to street lights and limitations with the photography (lacking proper equipment and skill), I was unable to capture the full glory of the moon. But, whenever I look back at this photograph, I am reminded not only of what I can see in the picture - but the memory of what I saw that night. Similarly, most entrepreneurs and businesses begin with a vision. But one of the key purposes of a vision, is being able to share it. If a business is unable to communicate that vision with stakeholders, prospects, and employees - the purpose is lost. Here are a few necessaries to capture that vision to share with others: Focus - In order to focus, y...

One of the hardest things to do is start fresh, start anew. As an entrepreneur, you will inevitably find yourself in situations where friends, family, mentors, former coworkers...are simply unable to help. That is because you are doing something different, something that has not been done before.  A Template For Life   In an excerpt from a poem I wrote in 2010, "Blank Pages and Empty Rooms" I weigh the pros and cons of a blank page. I was raised on templates. There is a way to cook, to bake, to love, to study, to be a lady. As an adult, that has been expanded to include a way to eat, walk, talk, write a contract, and even begin a business. As much as I complained about all these "rules" of society, I realized recently that I had also been comforted by this structure.  As an entrepreneur, I have had to reexamine my fears of the blank page. In the planning stages, I still had templates to rely on - business books, business plans, financial sheet...

Monday mornings come every week; they are just crazy like that. But, did you know that they can kill productivity for the entire week? I didn't know that either -- until I reached the end of my first year in business and realized much of my year had been just a string of bad Monday Mornings . Here are four things I learned over the course of my first year: It Was The Night Before Monday and All Through the House..  Whether you have 3 hours or 15 minutes, a little preparation on Sunday evening can help in big ways on Monday morning. For me, that is often just 15 minutes creating a to-do list or journaling. Laurita Thomas, who is the associate vice president and chief human resource officer at the University of Michigan, spent several hours each Sunday in her office, preparing for the week ahead for the first few years in her position. "I don't do that anymore" said Thomas, "but I do spend time each Sunday evening preparing for the week." Schedule ...

Linkedin is now shinier and more functional than ever! I haven't had time to go through all the new features yet, but here are my favorite three new features so far: 1. Familiar Menu and Profile . You don't have to dig through drop down menus on your profile page for basic information like 'Notifications' and 'Messaging'. Also, the profile and header area take up less space so you can see more information above the fold. 2. A Clean Home. Did you ever feel like you needed a map to get around your own home page? Yeah, me too. Now there is a distinct newsfeed/timeline in the middle with your own numbers on the left. 3.  Easy to Navigate Privacy. I remember taking 15 minutes just to explain to a class where to find some of the privacy controls in LinkedIn a few years ago. Now it is laid out so clearly I dare say other social utilities might take note! I imagine there will be more I'll have to say about the new improved LinkedIn over the next f...

Last week, I had professional photos taken. This was after several situations came up in the past few months where I was asked to provide a professional, high resolution photo of myself to go with my bio. I found that I had plenty of selfies, goofy, and off guard pictures, but none that represented me professionally. After reaching out to my young, retired photographer friend and writing buddy I had a photo shoot. It was much less painful than expected and she sent me sixteen decent photos among three backgrounds to choose from. I narrowed the poses down to the top six choices from myself and family, but still wasn't sure which picture would encapsulate my personality and professionalism at the same time. So, I took my photos to Facebook to poll friends, family, and followers. Top four photos chosen in Facebook poll. Photography Credit: Bethany Neal. I labeled each of the six poses A through F and asked people to choose one of the options. What happened next was completely u...

Please note: Comments can be made directly underneath each blog post. Any Comments made previously, via Google +, will no longer show up under blog posts.'' If you have a pulse, at some point you have done something on impulse. Recently, tennis player Svetlana Kuznetsova cut her hair during a match before returning and winning the match. I don't know the details surrounding the emergency haircut, but definitely looked like an impulsive decision at its finest. Tennis player cuts her hair in the middle of match ✂️🎾 In art and sports, spontaneity and split-second decison-making are often encouraged. In the business world, not so much. If you are starting a business, own a business, or even work in a business --you probably have plenty of cautionary tales of impulsive decisions gone wrong. The six-figure-earning account executive who got into a fist fight with a co-worker, the business owner who built an expense around money not yet earned, the employee who leaves a p...

The Character of a Community If you've ever dabbled in culinary arts, you know that one of the key rules when introducing new flavors to recipes is retaining some of the original flavor. You can add all sorts of ingredients to the meatloaf...until it doesn't taste like "meatloaf" anymore. Once that occurs, you will start to offend tastebuds. Similarly, for many Memorial Day can be celebrated, observed, and honored in a host of ways. But, this year the Internet has drawn attention to the fact that we have lost much of the original flavor of Memorial Day. When I was a young girl, Memorial Day meant getting up early and attending the Memorial Day parade, visiting the grave site of fallen loved ones, followed by food and family. By the time I was a teenager, Memorial Day also included furniture sales and decorations. At some point, over the last twenty years, Memorial Day has become nothing more for some than a "Happy Memorial Day" status, hashtag, or ...

Photo, "A Snowy Day in Michigan" Courtesy of Bryan Johnson , 2011 Yesterday afternoon, I was quietly thinking about how I would spend the rest of my day.  Having the house, and time, to myself after non-stop holiday activity was just too good to not enjoy. I decided to take a nap and just allow myself to wake up when my body told me to. Only problem is, there was this one fly that didn't get the memo. He danced on the ceiling and buzzed between my blinds and the light globe relentlessly. When I got to the height of my irritation, I had a spiritual "bop" upside my head: having to deal with a fly in late December in Michigan is a miracle. The same miracle that allowed me to take a walk on dry land wearing just a sweater, not have to clean off my car, and turn down my heat. Today, Michigan is looking like Christmas again. I woke up to snowy roads and wet tires on pavement making dirty noises outside my window. As a Michigander, grim forecasts for driver...

#HappyVeteransDay #ThankfulTuesday #freestuff4veterans #VeteransDayDeals #LesGoSocial On today,Tuesday, November 11 , businesses are honoring veterans, military personnel, and their families with freebies and discounts. This holiday has been recognized in the U.S. since 1918 and has a history rich in peace and tribute to those who serve, rather than Memorial Day which focuses on fallen soldiers.  Be sure to call ahead to ensure a specific location is participating in the deal. Most businesses will require proof of service, such as a VA card, military ID or Veterans Service Organization (VSO card). Thank you for your service! RESTAURANTS: Applebee’s — Veterans and active duty military receive a free meal from a limited menu, on Veterans Day, Tuesday, November 11. Bar Louie – On Monday, November 10 and Tuesday, November 11, veterans and active military personnel get a free meal up to a $12 value. Bob Evans — Veterans and active military personnel receive free all-y...

Many people have asked me how did get this or that opportunity over the years. My answer is always the same: # volunteer . Sometimes people ask about volunteer opportunities and others just blow off what I just said like I am being "extra" or flippant. But, it's the truth. Volunteering is how I access information about opportunities both paid and otherwise, connect with new people, develop relationships with old acquaintances, and express my care about the things I am most passionate about in the community.  Through volunteering (directly or indirectly), I have received jobs, clients, real friends, business partners, furniture, my home, event tickets, and a couple trips. I am not saying that anyone should begin volunteering to see what tangibles he or she can accumulate, but I am saying that the shift in mindset one takes to be a doer...a part of a team no matter what his or her credentials might be, can help shape a leader that is respected and valued within the commu...

Ann Arbor, Michigan has made it to the top of many lists as the best place to live for women, bicyclists, and even dating. Recently, Ann Arbor has made it to the top of a not-so-noble list: The Laziest Cities list.  My first reaction was that of disbelief. But, then I read how the list was derived. For instance, locals like to begin their day at an average time of 8:17 a.m., which is later than most cities in the United States. My guess is that Ann Arbor's appearance on this list is a byproduct for some of the other lists it has topped. Locals like to carpool, bike, walk, and jog to work. Also, there is a lot of support for the arts. Between 2004 and 2005 I witnessed thousands of people lose their jobs and careers after a major pharmaceutical company left town. The estimated loss to the local arts community was nearly $400,000. This is a combination of the loss in funding directly given by the company as well as the decrease in highly paid professionals with time and...